〈 Chapter 229 〉 Final Battle (4)

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“Freira?”

A silhouette donned in a white robe symbolizing an Apostle, turned away from me.

I couldn’t see her face, but I could recognize her from that posture alone.

‘Why?’

Of course, I was prepared for this.

She might have become an Apostle after being killed by the High Priest.

But I never expected her to be here.

Or perhaps…

I might not have wanted to think that.

And that was a blatant mistake.

Thanks to that, I hesitated.

Normally, I would have attacked the High Priest right away from this distance, but Freira was in my way.

Meanwhile, the High Priest turned around to look at me.

Due to the veil he always wore, I couldn’t see his expression or gaze.

Still, a surge of anger erupted in me.

“High Priest!”

I shouted at her.

In response, she answered in that characteristic colorless, odorless tone.

“Why do you call me? Do you have something to say?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then go ahead.”

“Not only did you kill Freira, but you turned her into a puppet…”

I drew my sword.

“I will kill you.”

After all, Freira was dead.

The Freira standing there now was merely a puppet.

Killing her to slay the High Priest would be doing her a favor.

Just as I was about to swing my sword with that thought in mind—

“Well, did I really kill her?”

“What do you mean…”

Suddenly, Freira turned around.

“Freira?”

She looked exactly like the Freira I knew.

Moreover, she wore a somewhat sad expression.

‘Still…’

I’m not falling for this.

She must be able to imitate that much.

But still…

‘Why?’

My arm wouldn’t move.

For some reason, I was hesitating.

Maybe I was waiting for her to speak.

“Allen.”

I was waiting for her voice to return.

“Freira?”

It was the first time in a long while that I heard her voice.

And this time, it carried a different emotion.

The last time I heard her voice, I hadn’t known she was my mother.

But that was all there was.

“I’m sorry.”

Yes, hearing her voice was enough.

So now, I really must…

“Allen, please stop for a moment.”

Damn.

When she said that with that face, I had no choice but to halt.

“I have something I need to tell you.”

Even in the meantime, she kept approaching me.

I couldn’t help but be cautious and asked,

“What is it?”

“I understand you can’t believe me even if I say I’m not the High Priest’s puppet. But…”

Tears flowed from her eyes.

“Please, stop here.”

“Stop here?”

I had run here non-stop up to this point.

Besides, I had just passed the Trial of Will.

But… in front of her tears, I couldn’t help but hesitate.

“Why?”

“Because she is the only one who can save this world.”

“What do you mean…”

“She intends to descend the Creator God into her own body.”

To directly descend the Creator God into her own body?

That sounded plausible, but in reality, it was a crazy plan.

Luel had also said she had thought about it and remarked:

“That’s a suicidal act. The divine authority of the Creator God is something one human cannot bear.”

Wait, one human?

Something flashed through my mind.

‘The reason the High Priest gathered elite soldiers called Apostles using the Hero system…’

No way…

“Are you planning to use the Apostles to disperse the divine authority’s subordinates?”

Freira nodded.

This wasn’t my area of expertise.

But it seemed plausible enough.

Of course, whether it would succeed was another matter entirely.

I yelled.

“But it’ll fail anyway!”

It always had up until now.

Her attempts were bound to fail.

Yet Freira shook her head.

“No, you said it yourself. You won’t know until you try.”

“How do you know that…”

Did the High Priest know that?

Or maybe…

“Freira? You wouldn’t…”

No, no.

I wasn’t sure.

Maybe if it was Elsie, but reading something through conversation wasn’t my strong suit.

‘Indeed…’

That was the only possibility left.

Clank.

I lifted my sword again and charged at her.

My body felt heavy due to the Barrier, but I couldn’t care less.

I had to confirm what I needed to.

“Allen?”

Freira, startled, drew her sword.

Then she intercepted my strike.

The sound of our swords clashing.

Of course, she had picked up some swordsmanship from Libero.

But knowing Libero’s swordsmanship didn’t prove that she was alive.

‘Still lacking.’

I withdrew my sword and attacked again.

She blocked it once more.

In fact, there were many openings in her defenses.

But I wasn’t aiming for those openings.

In the end, I didn’t want to kill her.

I wanted to find out.

Even if it was a vain hope.

If perhaps, she really was alive.

‘I had dreamed about it countless times.’

Dreams of her being alive and sharing joyous meals and laughter with me.

‘In the end, it was all a dream.’

When I woke from the dream, a horrific emptiness filled me.

Then came the guilt of not being able to protect her.

Finally, the anger towards the High Priest who killed her.

‘But if it’s not a dream…’

I would be happy.

Surely, I would be happy.

“Allen, let’s leave everything to her and go home.”

Freira spoke with a smile.

Looking at that smile naturally brought back memories of happy dreams.

But…

“I’m sorry.”

That was merely a dream.

“Allen?”

As our swords clashed, I realized something.

Her sword held not a trace of will.

She truly was dead.

Thud.

My sword pierced her heart.

I had no choice.

Reality was painfully cold and harsh.

‘Damn it.’

Something hot flowed down my cheeks.

Ever since I learned she was my mother in the Demon King’s Castle, I had been holding it back.

Now, it seemed to have burst forth.

‘This isn’t right.’

This was in front of the High Priest.

There was no time to weep pathetically.

But still…

“Mother.”

I uttered the words that had been swirling in my mouth.

Of course, Freira, already deceased, wouldn’t hear it.

In the end, I never called her mother even once.

Regret.

That regret overcame me.

Yet I didn’t collapse from it.

Rather, it pushed me forward.

“High Priest…”

I glared at him as I withdrew my sword from Freira.

Yet, he merely muttered in his colorless and odorless tone.

“Hm, I suppose persuasion was impossible. It’s unfortunate, but we’ll have to move on to the next plan.”

Next plan?

Suddenly, she raised her hand towards the sky.

Light began to gather in her hand.

‘Whatever it is, I must block it.’

Just as I decided to strike her down—

‘Huh?’

Freira’s corpse was scattering like particles.

And those particles were flowing into the High Priest.

‘Is she starting to absorb the Apostles!’

I had to stop this.

“You bastard…!”

I swung my sword immediately.

But that attack from a distance missed its mark.

“Gah!”

His power surged stronger than before.

Now, it was hard even to keep my body steady.

As a result, I lost strength in my legs and knelt on one knee.

‘Damn.’

At least the silver lining was that since the High Priest had begun absorbing the Apostles, the Demon Kings would be arriving soon.

But…

‘If that happens, it might be too late.’

I had to somehow stop the High Priest while I was here.

Moreover…

‘This is just like the future I glimpsed during the Trial of Will.’

In that place, I had been defeated by the High Priest and died.

Most likely, if I continued like this, I would die by his hand as well.

So, I had no choice but to use a method I was reluctant to employ.

‘Sung Yoo-rang.’

I called him in my heart.

If there was anyone who could alter the future, it would be him.

In truth, I didn’t want to use this method either, but I instinctively felt I had to.

‘You’ve been doing well, right?’

I’ll trust you.

Inventory.

I retrieved a flask from within.

Inside, something blood-red was swirling.

“What’s that…”

The High Priest tilted his head.

“Chaos?”

Yes, you recognize it well.

What’s inside is a small amount of Chaos.

Of course, even a small amount would have dreadful effects on the human body.

However, the High Priest remained calm.

“Do you really think that will threaten me?”

“No, not at all.”

Of course not.

I know that the First Humanity has resistance to chaos.

So this is…

“I’ll use it.”

I popped open the flask and downed its contents.

Seeing that, the High Priest finally showed signs of surprise.

“What are you doing…!”

“What do you think? I have no choice to win against you.”

Although I said that light-heartedly, my insides were anything but calm.

After all, I wasn’t just the First Humanity; I was a hybrid.

The chaos was quickly altering my body.

It hurt.

So much that it was hard to maintain my sanity.

But I had to endure.

Until I heard the voice.

“There’s no choice but to become the Demon King.”

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